Painting a hidden life

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"In Painting a Hidden Life, historian Mechal Sobel's trenchant analysis reveals a previously unrecognized central core of meaning in Bill Traylor's near-hidden symbolism - a call for retribution in response to acts of lynching and other violence toward blacks." "Drawing on historical records and oral histories, Sobel carefully explores the relationship between Traylor's life and his paintings and arrives at new interpretations of his art. Traylor's encoded paintings tell a vibrant, multilayered story of conjure power, sexual rivalry, and violence." "In this examination of an extraordinary artist, Sobel uncovers the internalized pain of several generations and traces the paths African Americans blazed long before the march down the Selma-Montgomery highway." --Book Jacket.